Do You notice this at the Grocery Store

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: JAGStorm

I want to thank you for the inspiration you gave me and others to start a community garden in our village.
I mentioned your thread to a few of the locals sitting around our local bar drinking, playing music [open mic nite] and the response was astonishing.
One guy donated 2 acres, another offered to let us use his tractor and implements, the owner of our local mercantile will supply the seeds free of charge and many of the locals will supply the labor of maintaining the garden. Bringing our community of Hispanics, Native Americans and Gringos even closer together, offsetting the high cost of fresh produce at the grocery store, and helping our elders and actually everyone....what a blessing. Thank You!!

Sitting on the tailgate of a pickup, drinking Beers or tequila with friends watching the sunset after a session in the garden...It truly is "The land of Enchantment"

That is incredible! Yes I’m going to be teaching younger people how to start.
Gardening will only go so far. For the perfect community food circle you should have foragers, hunters, gardeners, people that know how to process the old way - pickling/drying etc. A lot of the old knowledge has been lost.

There are a lot of old ways of doing things, butchering at a certain time, planting at night vs. day. When to plant or look for certain foraged crops.

You can tell who had food stamp cards. They try and spend the full amount given. Loaded carts.
And I wonder if they get free BJ memberships.

originally posted by: deltaalphanovember
a reply to: visitedbythem

Your freezer contents just made me green. With envy.

I don't dare store too much perishable goods. Electricity supply is too unreliable in South Africa, and I don't have the ability/means to go off grid.
Generators are banned in my complex and solar is too expensive.

Im really sorry to hear that. Generators and solar are a big part of our back up plan. Freezers wont do you any good without them if your grid goes down. I would be putting away a lot of dry goods, and some canned goods if I was in your position. I take it that gardening is not an option for you either? You could invest in a dehydrator. I dehydrate vegetables and make wonderful beef jerky too. Dried vegetables would come in handy in a food shortage situation.
Take care,
VBT

originally posted by: visitedbythem

originally posted by: deltaalphanovember
a reply to: visitedbythem

Your freezer contents just made me green. With envy.

I don't dare store too much perishable goods. Electricity supply is too unreliable in South Africa, and I don't have the ability/means to go off grid.
Generators are banned in my complex and solar is too expensive.

Dried vegetables would come in handy in a food shortage situation.
Take care,
VBT

In Western countries its not really a food shortage, there is plenty of food to go around, but due to supply chain disruption there is less variety. You mostly just need to switch brands or to buy locally grown variety.

originally posted by: visitedbythem

originally posted by: deltaalphanovember
a reply to: visitedbythem

Your freezer contents just made me green. With envy.

I don't dare store too much perishable goods. Electricity supply is too unreliable in South Africa, and I don't have the ability/means to go off grid.
Generators are banned in my complex and solar is too expensive.

Dried vegetables would come in handy in a food shortage situation.
Take care,
VBT

In Western countries its not really a food shortage, there is plenty of food to go around, but due to supply chain disruption there is less variety. You mostly just need to switch brands or to buy locally grown variety.

originally posted by: visitedbythem

originally posted by: deltaalphanovember
a reply to: visitedbythem

Your freezer contents just made me green. With envy.

I don't dare store too much perishable goods. Electricity supply is too unreliable in South Africa, and I don't have the ability/means to go off grid.
Generators are banned in my complex and solar is too expensive.

Im really sorry to hear that. Generators and solar are a big part of our back up plan. Freezers wont do you any good without them if your grid goes down. I would be putting away a lot of dry goods, and some canned goods if I was in your position. I take it that gardening is not an option for you either? You could invest in a dehydrator. I dehydrate vegetables and make wonderful beef jerky too. Dried vegetables would come in handy in a food shortage situation.
Take care,
VBT

Actually I have been thinking of making biltong (our version of dried meat). It's delicious if you have never had it before - when I was in the US, I tried jerky and unfortunately, for me, it was unpleasant.

Kudu biltong is my favourite.
Biltong

a reply to: JAGStorm

You're paying the same but are getting fewer items so the cart is less full. I buy the same number of items but see that I'm paying maybe 20% more for what I buy. Some items are maybe a little more expensive, vegetables for example. Meat is probably closer to 50% more.

a reply to: AaarghZombies
There was far less wheat planted this year. There will be less available, and costs will rise even further.

originally posted by: deltaalphanovember

originally posted by: AaarghZombies

originally posted by: deltaalphanovember
a reply to: visitedbythem

Your freezer contents just made me green. With envy.

I don't dare store too much perishable goods. Electricity supply is too unreliable in South Africa, and I don't have the ability/means to go off grid.
Generators are banned in my complex and solar is too expensive.

We brought a twin fuel cooler, electricity or propane gas.

Just looked that up - never knew such a wondrous thing existed - and available to buy in South Africa. Now to convince my wife,

We've had a couple of these since the 1990s, they're fantastic, well worth the money for storing anything that won't keep well in a root cellar.

I'm suprised that you didn't know about them I have some family who moved to North Africa during the cold War, they had one that took kerosene.